Category Archive: KTGR Sports News

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com joined Matt and BK to discuss the latest on the trade market, including the Royals’ trades for Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto, plus – are the Cardinals in on Adam Lind? Find out in our conversation with Jerry Crasnick.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports wrote a Mizzou football preview in which he argues that it’s hard to pick against Mizzou to win the SEC East once again in 2015. He joined Matt and BK to discuss the Tigers on Monday on The Big Show.

Craig Brown joined BK on The Sports Wire to discuss the Royals’ need for a starting pitcher, the concern level for Mike Moustakas & Salvador Perez, and Craig ranks the Royals’ potential playoff matchups from most favorable to least favorable. All of that and more in today’s conversation.

July 22, 2015 2:14 pmComments Off on MIZZOU FOOTBALL POSITIONAL PREVIEWS: INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE

Over the coming weeks, BK will preview each and every position on the Mizzou football roster in anticipation for the 2015 season. Our positional previews began in the first week of July, and we will continue until August 1st – which just so happens to be the first week of Mizzou football camp. See what we did there?

There is nothing if not experience at both offensive guard positions. Mitch Hall started the first four games of last season at right guard, Taylor Chappell started the final 10 games at right tackle, and Brad McNulty performed admirably in his 10 starts at left guard. All three make an appearance in the two-deep this year. That’s a unit that I will be following closely at fall camp.

Will Taylor Chappell hold off Brad McNulty for the starting left guard position? Will Connor McGovern kick back inside and take one of the starting spots at guard? Will the coaches ask junior college transfer Malik Cuellar to kick inside? All of these questions will be answered in the coming weeks.

As for center, the Tigers have Evan Boehm. Anything behind him is icing on the cake. Boehm is an All SEC-caliber player, and having him as the anchor of the Tigers offensive line can be seen as nothing but a positive.

The Good:

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The positive about Mizzou’s offensive guards is that most of them have starting experience. Hall, McNulty and Chappell have a combined 29 career starts. And there is flexibility within the position, too. After the coaches have determined who the starting left tackle will be for 2015, the backup left tackle may receive some cross-training at offensive guard. If Cuellar wins the job at left tackle, McGovern would kick back inside. If McGovenr wins the left tackle job, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cuellar kick inside.

At center, the Tigers have one of the best players in the SEC in Evan Boehm. He was named to the third team All SEC, but it would come as no surprise if he ends the season on the firs team. He’s a four-year starter that has been the rock of the Missouri Tigers in their SEC turnaround. There’s really not much more to say about Boehm. There’s nothing not to like about him as your starting center.

The Bad:

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The problem at offensive guard is that, despite starting experience, we haven’t seen this group perform at an extremely high level. Now, that changes if Connor McGovern gets kicked back inside – McGovern was an All SEC-caliber player when he was starting at offensive guard. But Mitch Hall, Taylor Chappell and Brad McNulty all experienced their fair share of lumps in 2014. So, despite their starting experience, there are still questions on what this offensive line’s ceiling is.

Realistic Expectations:

It’s really hard to tell. There are so many different possibilities along the offensive line in 2015. Here’s an illustration of the potential combinations:

You get the point. I believe Connor McGovern, Malik Cuellar and Tyler Howell are all options to start at left tackle. Taylor Chappell, Mitch Hall, Brad McNulty and Connor McGovern are options at offensive guard. And Malik Cuellar, Jordan Williams, Clay Rhodes, Taylor Chappell and Tyler Howell are all options at right tackle. If I had to guess – and this is nothing more than a guess – what the end result will be, I’ll go with this lineup:

Dave Bartoo does great work at CFBMatrix.com, and he joined Matt and BK on Tuesday on The Big Show to discuss Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel’s comments about the College Football Playoffs. Plus, Dave thinks people that hate on Pinkel and the Missouri football program are missing out. That, plus which conference does Dave think is most likely to miss out on this year’s CFP? All of that and more in the podcast.

Mark Simon of ESPN’s ‘Sweet Spot Blog’ joined Matt and BK on The Big Show to discuss last night’s 18 inning game between the Cardinals & Mets, plus trade targets for the Cardinals and Royals and is Lorenzo Cain a legitimate MVP candidate?

Bill Connelly of SB Nation joined BK on The Sports Wire to discuss Mizzou’s place in the SEC East, the perceived lack of respect for the Tigers, and who his top 5 most important players are for Mizzou’s success in 2015.

Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride joined Matt and BK on The Big Show to discuss what Justin Houston’s contract means for Kansas City going forward, plus — will this be the year that the Chiefs overtake the Broncos in the AFC West? Find out in today’s podcast.